Ancient animals. Cave lion

Before humans climbed to the top of the food chain, wild cats were the most powerful and successful hunters. Even today, these huge predators evoke fear and at the same time admiration in a person who is not their competitor in the hunt. And yet, prehistoric cats were much better in all respects, especially when it comes to hunting. Today's article presents the 10 largest prehistoric felines.

The prehistoric cheetah belongs to the same genus as today's cheetahs. His appearance was very similar to the appearance of a modern cheetah, but its ancestor was many times larger. The giant cheetah was more reminiscent of a modern lion in size, because its weight sometimes reached 150 kilograms, so the cheetah easily hunted larger animals. According to some data, ancient cheetahs were capable of accelerating at speeds of up to 115 kilometers per hour. The wild cat lived in the territory of modern Europe and Asia, but could not survive the Ice Age.

This dangerous animal does not exist today, but there was a time when xenosmilus, along with other predatory cats, headed the planet's food chain. Outwardly he very much resembled saber tooth tiger, however, unlike it, xenosmilus had much shorter teeth, which were similar to the teeth of a shark or predatory dinosaur. The formidable predator hunted from ambush, after which it instantly killed the prey, tearing off pieces of meat from it. Xenosmilus was very large, sometimes its weight reached 230 kilograms. Little is known about the habitat of the beast. The only place where his remains were discovered is Florida.

Currently, jaguars are not particularly large in size; as a rule, their weight is only 55-100 kilograms. As it turned out, they were not always like this. In the distant past, the modern territory of Southern and North America filled with giant jaguars. Unlike the modern jaguar, they had longer tails and limbs, and their size was several times larger. According to scientists, the animals lived on open plains together with lions and some other wild cats, and as a result of constant competition they were forced to change their place of residence to more wooded areas. The size of a giant jaguar was equal to a modern tiger.

If giant jaguars belonged to the same genus as modern ones, then European jaguars belonged to a completely different one. Unfortunately, today it is still not known what the European jaguar looked like, but some information about it is still known. For example, scientists claim that the weight of this cat was more than 200 kilograms, and its habitat was countries such as Germany, England, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

This lion is considered a subspecies of lion. Cave lions were incredibly large in size, and their weight reached 300 kilograms. Terrible predators lived in Europe after ice age, where they were considered one of the most dangerous creatures planets. Some sources say that these animals were sacred animals, so they were worshiped by many peoples, and perhaps they were simply feared. Scientists have repeatedly found various figurines and drawings depicting a cave lion. It is known that cave lions did not have a mane.

One of the most terrible and dangerous representatives wild cats prehistoric times - this is homotherium. The predator lived in the countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, South and North America. The animal adapted so well to the tundra climate that it could live for more than 5 million years. The appearance of Homotherium was noticeably different from the appearance of all wild cats. The forelimbs of this giant were much longer than the hind limbs, which made him look like a hyena. This structure suggests that Homotherium was not a very good jumper, especially unlike modern cats. Although Homotherium cannot be called the most, its weight reached a record 400 kilograms. This suggests that the animal was larger than even a modern tiger.

The appearance of a mahairod is similar to that of a tiger, but it is much larger, with more long tail and huge fang-knives. Whether he had the stripes characteristic of a tiger is still not known. The remains of the mahairod were found in Africa, which indicates its place of residence; in addition, archaeologists are convinced that this wild cat was one of the largest of those times. The weight of the mahairod reached half a ton, and in size it resembled a modern horse. The predator's diet consisted of rhinoceroses, elephants and other large herbivores. According to most scholars, the appearance of the mahairod is most accurately depicted in the film 10,000 BC.

Of all the prehistoric wild cats known to mankind, the American lion ranks second in popularity after Smilodon. Lions lived on the territory of modern North and South America, and died out about 11 thousand years ago at the very end of the Ice Age. Many scientists are convinced that this giant predator was relatives of today's lion. The weight of an American lion could reach 500 kilograms. About him hunting is underway There is a lot of debate, but most likely the animal hunted alone.

Most mysterious beast of the entire list was in second place among the largest cats. This tiger is not a separate species; most likely, it is distant relative modern tiger. These giants lived in Asia, where they hunted very large herbivores. Everyone knows that today tigers are the largest representatives of the cat family, but today there are no tigers as large as in prehistoric times. The Pleistocene tiger was unusually large sizes, and according to the found remains, he even lived in Russia.

The most famous representative of the cat family of prehistoric times. Smilodon had huge teeth like sharp knives and a muscular body with short legs. His body slightly resembled that of a modern bear, although he did not have the clumsiness that a bear has. The predator's stunningly built body allowed it to run at high speed even over long distances. Smilodon died out about 10 thousand years ago, which means they lived at the same time as humans, and perhaps even hunted them. Scientists believe that Smilodon attacked prey from an ambush.

Cave lion(Panthera leo spelaea), is an extinct subspecies of lions that lived during the Pleistocene period in Europe and Siberia.

The cave lion was probably the largest representative of the cat family, larger than the Ussuri tiger.

For the first time a cave lion was described from the skull by a German doctor who dealt with natural sciences, Georg August Goldfuss.

The lion appeared in Europe about 700 thousand years ago and probably came from Mosbach lion

Mosbach lions were larger than modern lions, the body length was up to 2.5 m (not including the tail), and they were about half a meter taller.

It is from the Mosbach lion that it is believed that the cave lion, which spread throughout Eurasia, originated about 300 thousand years ago.

There was also East Siberian cave a lion , in the north and northeast of Eurasia, probably through Berengia, it also entered America, going to the south of the American continent, where it formed american lion.

American lion

Extinction of the East Siberian and European species Lviv occurred approximately 10 thousand years ago, at the end of the last Valdai (Würm) glaciation.

There is evidence that a European subspecies of the cave lion was found for some time in the Balkans, but it is not clear whether it was a cave lion or another subspecies.

In 1985, near the German town of Siegsdorf, the skeleton of a male cave lion was found, which was just over 2 meters long and 1.2 m high, which approximately corresponded to the parameters of a modern lion.

Cave lions were approximately 5-10 percent taller than modern lions, although they were smaller than American or Mosbach lions.

There are unique Paleolithic rock paintings in the Vogelherdhöle caves of France, in Alsace, and in the south of France, in the Chauvet cave.

The lion was a totem for ancient man, like the cave bear

Lions lived in Europe and northern Asia not only during the interglacial era, but during the glaciations themselves; apparently they were not afraid of the cold, and there was enough food.

In 2004, scientists from Germany managed to find out, as a result of DNA research, that The cave lion is not a separate species, but a subspecies of lion.

During the Pleistocene, northern lions formed their own group, distinct from African and Southeast lions. This group included Mosbach lion, cave lion, East Siberian lion and American lion.

Nowadays, all lion species belong to the so-called “Leo” group, and all lion species began to diverge about 600 thousand years ago.

Some species of the extinct American lion were much larger than the Mosbach lion and, therefore, were the largest predators cat family that were present on our Earth.

Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) was distributed throughout southern Eurasia from Greece to India. There are now about 300 individuals preserved in the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat, India.

In the 1990s, to preserve the endangered population, India donated several pairs of Asiatic lions to European zoos.

The Asian or Indian subspecies of lion weighs from 150 to 220 kg, mostly 160-190 kg in males, and 90-150, usually 110-120 kg in females. His mane is not so thick and fits more closely to the body.

The Asiatic lion has a stockier body, which creates a misleading impression of its smaller size compared to the African lion. But the record length of the Asiatic lion is almost three meters.

In India, until about the middle of the last century, lions lived in Punjab, Gujarat and even West Bengal.

On the Kathiyawar Peninsula (in the southwest), in the Gir Forest, a small population of Asiatic lions still remains, but there are less than 150 of them left. These lions were taken under state protection in 1900.

And the last Indian lion was killed in 1884.

Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo), an extinct subspecies of lion, originally common in North Africa. Some lions currently living in captivity probably descend from Barbary lions, but there are no longer purebred representatives of the subspecies among them.

It was the Barbary lions that were used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 to describe and classify lions. The weight of males ranged from 160 to 250 kg, less often 270 kg, females - from 100 to 170 kg.

Barbary lion, along with the extinct cape lion (Panthera leo melanochaitus), was the largest living subspecies of lion. His most noticeable difference was his particularly thick dark mane, which extended far beyond his shoulders and hung down over his stomach.

The Barbary lion was found throughout the territory in historical times African continent, located north of the Sahara.

The Barbary lion lived, in addition to the North African semi-deserts and savannas, also in the Atlas Mountains. He hunted deer, wild boar and hartebeest (a type of dog-headed monkey).

The ancient Romans often used the Barbary lion in "fun fights" against the Turanian tiger, also extinct, or to fight gladiators.

The proliferation of firearms and the deliberate policy of exterminating the Barbary lion has led to its population being severely reduced in North Africa and the Atlas Mountains. And at the beginning of the 18th century, the Barbary lion almost disappeared from North Africa, leaving only a small range in the northwest.

The last free-living Barbary lion was shot in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains in 1922.

Initially, scientists assumed that Barbary lions became extinct in captivity. However, Moroccan rulers received gifts of lions from the nomadic Berber tribes, even when these animals had already become quite rare.

IN late XIX centuries, a purebred Barbary lion named Sultan lived in the London Zoo.

Those lions that Moroccan King Hassan II donated to the Rabat Zoo in 1970 were probably direct descendants of Barbary lions, at least in phenotype and morphology, they clearly corresponded historical description Barbary lions.

The Addis Ababa Zoo is home to 11 lions that may be descendants of Barbary lions. Their ancestors were the property of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

At the end of the twentieth century, about 50 lions descended from Barbary lived in zoos, however, there is evidence that they are not purebred and have admixtures of other species.

Cape Lion (Panthera leo melanochaitus) is an extinct subspecies of lions. Cape lions lived on south coast African continent.

They were not the only subspecies of lions that lived in South Africa, and their exact distribution area has not yet been fully established.

The main habitat for lions was the Cape Province in the vicinity of Cape Town. The last Cape lion was killed in 1858.

Male Cape lions were characterized by a long mane that extended over the shoulders and covered the belly, as well as noticeable black tips of the ears.

The results of a DNA study of Cape lions revealed that this is not a separate subspecies, but most likely the Cape lion is only the southernmost population transvaal lion (Panthera leo krugeri).

Transvaal lion, also known as southeastern African lion , a subspecies of lion that lives in southern Africa, including National Park Kruger. The name comes from the Transvaal region of South Africa.

Like all lions (with the exception of lions from National Park Tsavo), male Transvaal lions have a mane. Males spend most of their time guarding their territory, and lionesses take on the responsibilities of hunting and providing food for the pride.

Males reach a length of up to three meters (usually 2.5 cm), including the tail. Lionesses are smaller - about 2.5 meters. The weight of a male is usually 150-250 kg, females - 110-180 kg. The height at the withers reaches 90-125 cm.

This type of lion is characterized by leucism, lack of melanin, which is associated with mutation. The animal's fur becomes light gray, sometimes even almost white, and the skin underneath is pink (due to the absence of melanocytes).

Lions were also found in ancient Greece

A.A. Kazdym

List of used literature

Sokolov V. E. Rare and endangered animals. Mammals. M.: 1986. P. 336

Alekseeva L.I., Alekseev M.N. Triofauna of the Upper Pleistocene of Eastern Europe(large mammals)

Zedlag U. Animal world Earth. M., Mir. 1975.

Zoological journal. Volume 40, Issues 1-6, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov. Zoo museum

West M., Packer C. Sexual selection, temperature, and the lion’s mane. Washington DC. 2002

Barnett R., Yamaguchi N., I. Barnes, A. Cooper: Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the Lion Panthera leo, Implications for its ex situ conservation. Kluwer, Dordrecht. 2006

Ronald M. Nowak Walker's Mammals of the World, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999

Barton M. Wildes Amerika Zeugen der Eiszeit. Egmont Verlag, 2003

Turner A. The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, 1997.

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Thousands of years ago, planet Earth was inhabited by various animals, which then various reasons died out. Nowadays these animals are often called fossils. Their remains in the form of preserved skeletal bones and skulls are found during archaeological excavations. Then scientists painstakingly collect all the bones together and thus try to restore the appearance of the animal. In this they are helped by cave paintings, and even primitive sculptures left by those who lived at the same time. Today we came to the aid of scientists computer graphics, allowing you to recreate the image of a fossil animal. The cave lion is one of the types of ancient creatures that terrified their smaller brothers. Even primitive people tried to avoid its habitats.

Fossil predator cave lion

This is how it was discovered and described oldest species fossil predator, which scientists called the cave lion. The bone remains of this animal have been found in Asia, Europe and North America. This allows us to conclude that the cave lion lived over a vast territory, from Alaska to the British Isles. The name that this species received turned out to be justified, because it was in the caves that most of its bone remains were found. But only wounded and dying animals went into the caves. They preferred to live and hunt in open spaces.

History of discovery

The first detailed description of a cave lion was made by Russian zoologist and paleontologist Nikolai Kuzmich Vereshchagin. In his book, he spoke in detail about the ancestry of this animal, the geography of its distribution, habitats, feeding habits, reproduction and other details. This book, entitled “The Cave Lion and Its History in the Holarctic and within the USSR,” was written based on many years of painstaking research and is still the best scientific work to study this fossil animal. Scientists call a significant part of the northern hemisphere the haloarctic.

Description of the animal

The cave lion was a very large predator, weighing up to 350 kilograms, height at the withers 120-150 centimeters and body length up to 2.5 meters, excluding the tail. The powerful legs were relatively long, which made the predator a tall animal. His coat was smooth and short, his color was even, uniform, sandy-gray, which helped him camouflage himself while hunting. In winter, the fur cover was more luxuriant and protected from the cold. manes cave lions there was none, as evidenced by the cave paintings of primitive people. But the tassel on the tail is present in many drawings. Ancient predator instilled horror and panic in our distant ancestors.

The cave lion's head was relatively large, with powerful jaws. The dental system of fossil predators looks the same in appearance as that of modern lions, but the teeth are still more massive. The two fangs are striking in their appearance: the length of each fang of the animal was 11-11.5 centimeters. The structure of the jaws and dental system clearly proves that the cave lion was a predator and could cope with very large animals.

Habitats and hunting

Rock paintings often depict a group of cave lions chasing one victim. This suggests that predators lived in prides and practiced collective hunting. An analysis of the remains of animal bones found in the habitats of cave lions shows that they attacked deer, elk, bison, aurochs, yaks, musk oxen and other animals that were found in this particular area. Their prey could have been young mammoths, camels, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and scientists do not rule out the possibility of attacks by predators on adult mammoths, but only under favorable conditions. The lion did not specifically hunt for primitives. A person could become a victim of a predator when the beast entered a shelter where people lived. Usually only sick or old individuals climbed into the caves. A person alone could not cope with a predator, but collective defense using fire could save people or some part of them. These extinct lions were strong, but this did not save them from inevitable death.

Possible causes of extinction

The mass death and extinction of cave lions occurred at the end of a period that scientists call the Late Pleistocene. This period ended approximately 10 thousand years ago. Even before the end of the Pleistocene, mammoths and other animals that are now called fossils also became completely extinct. The reasons for the extinction of cave lions are:

• climate change;
• landscape transformations;
• activities of primitive man.

Climatic and landscape changes have disrupted the usual habitat of the lions themselves and the animals they fed on. They were torn apart, which led to the mass extinction of herbivores, deprived of the necessary food, and after them, predators began to die out.

Man as the cause of the mass death of fossil animals for a long time was not considered at all. But many scientists pay attention to the fact that primitive people constantly developed and improved. New hunts appeared and hunting techniques improved. Man began to feed on herbivores himself and learned to resist predators. This could lead to the extermination of fossil animals, including the cave lion. Now you know which animals became extinct as human civilization developed.

Considering the destructive influence of man on nature, the version of the involvement of primitive people in the disappearance of cave lions no longer seems fantastic today.

The German paleontologist Goldfus described the skull of a large cat, the size of a lion, found in 1810 in a cave in Franconia (Bass, middle Rhine) under the name Felis spelaea, i.e. “cave cats”. Later, similar skulls and other bones were found and described in North America under the name Felis atrox, i.e. “terrible cat.” Then they found the remains of cave lions in Siberia, the Southern and Northern Urals, the Crimea and the Caucasus. Meanwhile, the figure of a cave lion in the harsh landscapes of icy Europe, and even more so in Siberia, with its bitter frosts, seemed as fantastic as the figure of an elephant, and aroused doubts and reflections among specialists. After all, we are accustomed to associate the lion with the hot savannas and jungles of India and Africa, the semi-deserts of Asia Minor and Arabia. Was there really such a thing? big cat simultaneously and together with hairy mammoths, the same rhinoceroses, fluffy reindeer, shaggy bison and musk oxen in Northern Europe, Asia, Alaska and America?

Since the last century, some paleontologists believed that Quaternary period cave lions and tits lived in Europe, others - that there were ordinary and cave lions, but there were no tigers, others - that lions of African origin lived in Europe and Northern Asia. They lived in the Balkans until the time of Aristotle and attacked Persian caravans in Thrace, and later survived only in South Asia and Africa. Finally, due to the fact that the ancient Greeks and Romans brought tens and hundreds of lions from Africa and Asia Minor for circus and combat purposes, such animals could have been imported to Europe - escaped from menageries.

There were vague ideas about the habitat of lions and tigers in both Siberia and North America. After the Siberian paleontologist I.D. Chersky identified the femur of a cat from the mouth of the Lena as a tiger, our zoologists began to write that tigers had spread earlier before Arctic Ocean, and now they only enter southern Yakutia as far as Aldan. Czech zoologist V. Mazak even placed the homeland of tigers in the Amur-Ussuri region. American paleontologists Maryem and Stock, having studied the skeletons and skulls of terrible lions that fell into asphalt pits in California 15 thousand years ago, believed that these lions were, firstly, similar to Eurasian ones, and secondly, descended from the American jaguar ( I).

There is, however, an opinion that in the Pleistocene, a special type of giant cat lived as part of the mammoth fauna - the cave lion (Vereshchagin, 1971).

Some scientists believe that cave lions looked more like tigers and had transverse tiger stripes on their sides. This opinion is clearly erroneous. Modern southern cats - tiger, lynx, puma, settling north into the taiga zone, lose their bright stripes and spots, acquiring a pale color, which helps them camouflage in winter against the background of dull northern landscapes. While carving the outlines of cave lions on the walls of the caves, the ancient artists did not make a single hint about the spots or stripes covering the body or tail of these predators. Most likely, cave lions were colored like modern lionesses or pumas - in sandy-violet tones.

The distribution of cave lions in the late Pleistocene was enormous - from the British Isles and the Caucasus to the New Siberian Islands, Chukotka and Primorye. And in America - from Alaska to Mexico.

These animals were called cave animals, perhaps in vain. Where there was food and caves, they willingly used the latter for resting and raising their young, but on the plains of the steppe zone and in the high-latitude Arctic they were content with small canopies and thickets of bushes. Judging by the fact that the bones of these northern lions are found in geological layers along with the bones of mammoths, horses, donkeys, deer, camels, saigas, primitive aurochs and bison, yaks and musk oxen, there is no doubt that lions attacked these animals and ate their meat . By analogy with modern examples from the savannas of Africa, one can think that the favorite food of our northern lions were horses and kulans, which they lay in wait at watering holes or caught among bushes and in the steppes. They overtook their prey with a short throw at a distance of a few hundred meters. It is possible that they also organized collective hunts in temporary friendly groups, dividing into beaters and ambushers, as modern lions in Africa do. There is practically no information about the reproduction of cave lions, but one can think that they had no more than two or three cubs.

In Transcaucasia, Northern China and Primorye, cave lions lived together with tigers and, obviously, competed with them.

In the book by J. Roni (senior) “The Fight for Fire” (1958) there is a description of the battle of young hunters with a tigress and a cave lion. These battles were probably rarely without casualties. The weapons of our ancestors in the Stone Age were not very reliable for battles with such a dangerous animal (Fig. 17). Lions could also fall into trapping pits, as well as into pressure traps such as kulema. The hunter who killed the cave lion was probably considered a hero and proudly wore its skin on his shoulder and drilled fangs on his neck. Pieces of marl with images of lion heads, found in the layers of the Paleolithic site of Kostenki I south of Voronezh, probably served as amulets. At the sites of Kostenki IV and XIII, skulls of cave lions were found, kept in huts reinforced with mammoth bones. The skulls were probably placed on the roofs of dwellings or hung on stakes or trees - they were intended to play the role of “guardian angel”.

The cave lion, apparently, did not live to see the historical era; it became extinct over large areas along with other characteristic members of the mammoth fauna - mammoth, horse, bison.

Lions could have stayed somewhat longer in Transbaikalia, Buryat-Mongolia, and Northern China, where an abundance of various ungulates was still preserved. Some stone sculptures of lion-like monsters made by the ancient Manchus and Chinese in Jilin and other cities of Xinjiang may have depicted the last cave lions that survived here until the European Middle Ages.

Un, the son of the Bull, loved to visit underground caves. He caught blind fish and colorless crayfish there with Zur, the son of the Earth, the last of the tribe of Wa, the People without Shoulders, who survived the extermination of his people by the Red Dwarfs.

Un and Zur wandered along the stream all day long underground river. Often its shore was just a narrow stone cornice. Sometimes we had to crawl through a narrow corridor of porphyry, gneiss, and basalt. Zur lit a resin torch from the branches of a turpentine tree, and the crimson flame was reflected in the sparkling quartz arches and in the rapidly flowing waters of the underground stream. Bending over the black water, they watched the pale, colorless animals swimming in it, then walked further, to the place where the road was blocked by a blank granite wall, from under which an underground river noisily burst out. Un and Zur stood for a long time in front of the black wall. How they wanted to overcome this mysterious barrier that the Ulamr tribe encountered six years ago, during their migration from north to south.

Un, the son of the Bull, belonged, according to the custom of the tribe, to his mother's brother. But he preferred his father Nao, the son of Leopard, from whom he inherited a powerful build, tireless lungs and extraordinary acuity of feelings. His hair fell over his shoulders in thick, coarse strands, like the mane of a wild horse; the eyes were the color of gray clay. Huge physical strength made him a dangerous opponent. But even more than Nao, Un was inclined to be generous if the defeated person lay prostrate on the ground in front of him. Therefore, the Ulamrs, while paying tribute to the strength and courage of Un, treated him with some disdain.

He always hunted alone or together with Zur, whom the Ulamrs despised for his weakness, although no one knew so skillfully how to find stones suitable for making fire and how to make tinder from the soft core of a tree.

Zur had a narrow, flexible body, like a lizard. His shoulders were so sloping that his arms seemed to come straight out of his body. Since time immemorial, all the Vas, the tribe of Men Without Shoulders, have looked like this. Zur thought slowly, but his mind was more sophisticated than that of the people of the Ulamr tribe.

Zur loved being in underground caves even more than Un. His ancestors and the ancestors of his ancestors had always lived in lands abounding in streams and rivers, some of which disappeared under the hills or were lost in the depths of the mountain ranges.

One morning friends were wandering along the river bank. They saw the crimson ball of the sun rise above the horizon and golden light flood the surrounding area. Zur knew that he liked to follow the rushing waves; Un, however, surrendered to this pleasure unconsciously. They headed towards the underground caves. The mountains rose right in front of them - high and inaccessible. Steep, sharp peaks stretched like an endless wall from north to south, and nowhere was a passage visible between them. Un and Zur, like the entire Ulamr tribe, passionately dreamed of overcoming this indestructible barrier.

For more than fifteen years, the Ulamrs, having left their native places, wandered from the northwest to the southeast. Moving south, they soon noticed that the further they went, the richer the land became, and the more abundant the spoils. And gradually people got used to this endless journey.

But a huge mountain range stood in their way, and the tribe’s advance to the south stopped. The Ulamrs searched in vain for a passage among the impregnable stone peaks.

Un and Zur sat down to rest in the reeds, under the black poplars. Three mammoths, huge and majestic, walked along the opposite bank of the river. Antelopes could be seen running in the distance; The rhinoceros appeared from behind a rocky ledge. Excitement took over Nao's son. How he wanted to overcome the space separating him from his prey!

Sighing, he stood up and walked upstream, followed by Zur. Soon they found themselves in front of a dark hole in the rock, from where a river was noisily gushing out. The bats rushed into the darkness, frightened by the appearance of people.

Excited by a thought that suddenly came into his head, Un said to Zur:

– There are other lands beyond the mountains!

Zur replied:

– The river flows from sunny countries.

People without shoulders have long known that all rivers and streams have a beginning and an end.

The blue darkness of the cave gave way to the darkness of an underground labyrinth. Xur lit one of the resinous branches he had taken with him. But the friends could have done without light - they knew every turn of the underground path so well.

Un and Zur walked all day through gloomy passages along the course of an underground river, jumping over pits and crevices, and in the evening they fell soundly asleep on the shore, having dined on crayfish baked in ash.

At night they were awakened by a sudden shock that seemed to come from the very depths of the mountain. The roar of falling stones and the crackling of crumbling rocks could be heard. Then there was silence. And, not being able to figure out what was going on, the friends fell asleep again.

Vague memories took possession of Zur.

“The earth shook,” he said.

Un did not understand Zur’s words and did not try to understand their meaning. His thoughts were short and swift. He could only think about the obstacles that were immediately in front of him, or about the prey he was pursuing. His impatience grew, and he quickened his steps, so that Zur could barely keep up with him. Long before the end of the second day they reached the place where a blank stone wall usually blocked their path.

Xur lit a new resinous torch. A bright flame illuminated the high wall, reflected in countless fractures of the quartz rock.

An astonished exclamation escaped both young men: there was a wide crack in the stone wall!

“That’s because the earth shook,” said Zur.

With one leap, Un found himself at the edge of the crack. The passage was wide enough to let a person through. Un knew what treacherous traps lurked in the newly split rocks. But his impatience was so great that he, without thinking, squeezed into the blackened stone gap in front of him, so narrow that it was possible to move forward with great difficulty. Zur followed the son of the Bull. Love for his friend made him forget his natural caution.

Soon the passage became so narrow and low that they could barely squeeze between the stones, bent over, almost crawling. The air was hot and stuffy, it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe... Suddenly a sharp ledge of a rock blocked their path.

Angered, Un pulled a stone ax from his belt and struck it at the rocky ledge with such force as if there was an enemy in front of him. The rock shook, and the young men realized that it could be moved. Zur, sticking his torch into a crevice in the wall, began to help Un. The rock began to shake more. They pushed her with all their might. There was a crash, stones fell... The rock swayed and... they heard the dull sound of a heavy block falling. The path was clear.

Having rested a little, the friends moved on. The passage gradually widened. Soon Un and Zur were able to straighten up to their full height, and it became easier to breathe. Finally they found themselves in a vast cave. Un rushed forward with all his might, but soon the darkness forced him to stop: Zur with his torch could not keep up with his fleet-footed friend. But the delay was short-lived. The impatience of the Bull's son was transmitted to the Man without Shoulders, and they moved on with long steps, almost running.

Soon a faint light appeared ahead. It intensified as the young men approached him. Suddenly Un and Zur found themselves at the exit of the cave. In front of them stretched a narrow corridor formed by two sheer granite walls. Above, high above our heads, a strip of dazzling blue sky was visible.

- Un and Zur passed through the mountain! – the son of the Bull exclaimed joyfully.

He straightened up to his full mighty height, and pride from the consciousness perfect feat took possession of his entire being.

Xur, more reserved by nature, was also very excited.